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Seattle signs veteran lefty Wolf to Minors deal

9/2/12: Randy Wolf tosses 3 1/3 frames of solid relief, holding the Yankees to just one run to earn the win in his first Orioles appearance

By Barry M. Bloom
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MLB.com |

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Veteran left-hander Randy Wolf signed a Minor League contract with the Mariners on Thursday and is trying to salvage his baseball career after recovering from a second Tommy John surgery.

Seattle also signed right-hander Zach Miner to a Minor League contract on Thursday.

Wolf, 37, who hasn't pitched since the end of the 2012 season when he sustained the elbow injury with the Orioles, said on Thursday that he knows this could be his last chance.

"I've always wanted to play for as long as I could. I enjoy playing," Wolf told MLB.com. "I feel like, obviously, this is my last shot, because if for some reason my elbow goes again, I'm not going to have surgery on it a third time. I've had a long time to think about things, about how my career has gone and being appreciative for the time I've had in this game. Whatever goes on with my elbow now and moving forward is really icing on the cake."

Wolf has played for six teams in 14 seasons, including 2007 and '09 with his hometown Dodgers. He was born and raised in Canoga Park, Calif., and he went to college at Pepperdine University in nearby Malibu. Wolf, who owns a career 132-117 record with a 4.20 ERA and 1,767 strikeouts in 2,268 innings, was a second-round pick by the Phillies in the 1997 First-Year Player Draft and spent his first eight seasons in Philadelphia.

He has been a man without a team, undergoing his own rehab since the end of 2012.

"Since having the surgery, my recovery has been a full-time job," Wolf said. "It's been a pretty monotonous year, training and working out six days a week and getting back on a throwing program. I've been trying to enjoy it the best I could, being at home in L.A. and being on my own and not having to do it under a team's supervision. It's liberating in a way, but it's a long process.

"It's tough, considering my age and it being my second one. I knew I was going to have an uphill battle, but so far I've been extremely fortunate. Things have gone really well."